Could Audacious have been traded for Malta?

Could the Audacious-class carriers have been cancelled or sold to help pay for Malta?

Yes; he considers that a plausible way to concentrate resources on the more capable Malta class.

Cancelling or selling the Audacious-class hulls was a possible way to redirect scarce postwar resources. Within the stream's counterfactual, that trade would have concentrated investment on the larger and more adaptable Malta design.